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GFTN Launches Inaugural Global Digital Assets Report at Insights Forum 2025

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Singapore, 10 November 2025 — The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) today launched its inaugural Global Digital Assets Report at the GFTN Insights Forum 2025, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF). As digital assets move from experimentation to mainstream adoption, the report delivers one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the evolving global digital asset landscape. Drawing on more than 40 in-depth interviews with senior leaders across the public and private sectors, along with a global survey, it examines how markets are maturing, regulation is converging, and institutional participation is scaling across asset classes and jurisdictions. 

 

Global Shift from Experimentation to Integration 

The report maps developments in the digital assets landscape across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, providing comparative insights into regulatory frameworks, adoption trends, and emerging technologies shaping the future of finance. It highlights how digital assets — from stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets to decentralised finance (DeFi) — are becoming foundational to modern financial infrastructure, powering cross-border payments, settlement, and investment. Cross-cutting themes include anti-money-laundering, data privacy, security, and the influence of AI, quantum computing, and zero-knowledge proofs on next-generation digital financial systems. 

 

Key Findings 

Regulatory Maturity: At least 9 of 12 jurisdictions studied have implemented or are drafting digital-asset frameworks, signalling growing recognition of responsible innovation in the space. 

  • Financial System Application: 47% of survey respondents highlighted that digital assets could enhance efficiencies in cross-border payments, while 36% projected new financial services driven by programmability and smart contracts. 
  • Future Opportunity: A majority of respondents surveyed see capital market efficiencies via tokenisation (56%) as key growth opportunities for digital assets, with nearly half (46%) also highlighting programmable money as an emerging frontier. 

 

Who Benefits: Real-World Impact: The report underscores how digital assets are delivering tangible, inclusive benefits across economies and communities. 

  • Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) gain faster, cheaper access to cross-border payments and financing through tokenised assets and programmable money. 
  • Migrant workers benefit from instant, low-cost remittances powered by stablecoins and interoperable payment systems. 
  • Investors can access fractionalised portfolios of previously illiquid assets such as infrastructure and real estate. 
  • Governments and regulators leverage blockchain-based transparency to improve supervision and public-sector efficiency. 
  • Financial institutions deploy blockchain and AI-enabled compliance tools to reduce settlement times and strengthen risk management. 

 

Regional Highlights 

  • Asia leads in cross-border payments and tokenisation pilots, driven by public-private collaboration and live projects such as Project Nexus. 
  • Europe continues to advance regulatory clarity through MiCA and digital-euro trials. 
  • The Middle East is emerging as a fast-growing innovation hub, leveraging digital-asset sandboxes and sovereign-wealth investment. 
  • The Americas are moving toward institutional adoption, supported by the U.S. GENIUS Act and listings of digital-asset exchange-traded funds. 

 

Leadership Commentary 

Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO, GFTN: 
“The question is no longer whether digital assets matter, but how they can be integrated responsibly into financial systems in ways that enhance trust, resilience, and inclusion. This report moves beyond market hype to analyse the fundamentals — regulation, infrastructure, and interoperability — that will define the next phase of global finance.” 

Anthony Thomas, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, GFTN: 
“This research offers practical insight for policymakers and financial institutions navigating the shift from experimentation to adoption. It underscores the importance of global coordination, responsible regulation, and technology-led collaboration to build the financial architecture of the future.” 

 

Voices from the Ecosystem 

“The tokenisation of financial assets — equities, debt, funds, derivatives — is where the real potential lies. If this scales, the traditional crypto market will be dwarfed. But we’ll need three things: central bank money on the ledger, regulatory adaptation to support tokenised activity, and acceptance of tokenised assets as collateral. These conditions are beginning to emerge,” said a European policymaker interviewed for the report. 

“Banks remain anchors of trust. Customers expect safe custody, compliance, and recourse when things go wrong. FinTech's and blockchain-native firms bring efficiency and innovation, but banks provide the regulatory guardrails and trusted credentials. The future will combine the efficiency of FinTech's and blockchain-native firms with the trust of banks, under clear, consistent regulation,” shared a senior leader of an Asian financial institution. 

“We see this as the third wave of disruption in financial infrastructure,” said an investor from the Americas. “The first was RTGS systems in the 1980s, the second was instant payment rails like Pix in 2010, and now the third is blockchain-based settlement. With programmability, atomic settlement, and composability, these rails are not just about efficiency — they’re about rewiring financial markets for the next generation.” 

Next Steps 

The GFTN Global Digital Assets Report will inform GFTN’s 2026 policy dialogues and capacity-building programmes, supporting governments and financial institutions across Asia, Africa, and Europe in designing resilient, innovation-ready digital finance ecosystems. 

The full report is available for download at https://gftn.co/insights/gftn-global-digital-assets-report 

Media Enquiries 

Preeti Dawra 
Chief Communications Officer, GFTN 
Email: preeti.dawra@gftn.com 

 

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About the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) 

The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). With offices across Singapore, SEA, Japan, MEA, and Europe,  GFTN’s mission is to bridge policy, capital, and technology to build resilient, efficient, and inclusive financial systems. GFTN operates via its commercial subsidiaries, GFTN Services and GFTN Capital. GFTN Services, through GFTN Connect, hosts global forums across five continents to bring together industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers from over 150 countries. GFTN Solutions provides advisory services, technology solutions, and capacity-building support to governments and the private sector. GFTN Capital will be a venture capital firm investing in growth-stage FinTechs globally. For more information, please visit www.gftn.co 

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